Ya'la

Kuraib was a freed slave of Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and served as his secretary and personal assistant for many years. He was a Tabi'i scholar who transmitted a significant body of hadiths on behalf of his master Ibn Abbas. His status as the trusted scribe and secretary of Ibn Abbas gave him unique access to a vast store of knowledge. He narrated hadiths from Ibn Abbas, Umm Salama, Usama ibn Zayd, and other companions. Among his most significant narrations is the hadith reported from Ibn Abbas regarding the sighting of the new moon for Ramadan, which has major implications for Islamic legal rulings on the start of the month of fasting and whether moon-sighting decisions are local or universal. This narration is among the most discussed in classical fiqh. Hadith scholars regarded Kuraib as a trustworthy and reliable transmitter. He also served as an important link in numerous other narrations from Ibn Abbas that would not otherwise have been preserved. His narrations appear in Sahih Muslim, the Sunan of Abu Dawud, al-Nasai, and other major collections.